THE CHINA FACTOR
If you had to identify one factor that has kept Russia’s economy and war machine afloat since February 2022 in the face of massive Western sanctions, that factor would be … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Podcast
THE END OF PUTIN’S ISOLATION
And just like that, Vladimir Putin’s international isolation is over. Despite being indicted for war crimes by the international criminal court, Putin joined North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as … Continue reading
PUTIN’S DEADLY IMMORTALITY QUEST
There is a very simple reason that a ceasefire in Ukraine has been so elusive. For Vladimir Putin, this is a war of choice, his motivation is ideological, and his … Continue reading
THE ALASKA SUMMIT
Will it be a redux of Munich 1938, when one dictator was appeased and a world war ensued? Or perhaps it could turn out to be a replay of Yalta … Continue reading
WAR AND KABUKI PEACE TALKS
It has been a week of mixed signals, to say the least. The United States threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners if Moscow did not agree to … Continue reading
THE GUNS AND DRONES OF SUMMER
Russia’s summer offensive is in full swing with Moscow capitalizing on a series of small advances in an attempt to reshape control of the front lines. Russia is making incremental … Continue reading
DEMOCRACY DURING WARTIME
For Ukrainians, democracy must go on – even in wartime. Or more accurately, especially in wartime. Large protests erupted in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Dnipro this week after President Volodymyr … Continue reading
THE COLD WAR WITHIN
THE COLD WAR WITHIN If the old Cold War was a twilight struggle between and among states, the new Cold War is a subtler and stealthier struggle within states. Like … Continue reading
RUSSIA’S FEISTY NEIGHBORHOOD
Don’t look now but there is another conflict brewing in the former Soviet space. Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have been in a freefall for weeks after police in Yekaterinburg … Continue reading
PUTIN’S SHRINKING AXIS OF ROGUES
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, few countries have done more to assist Moscow than Iran. From Shahid drones to ballistic missiles to artillery shells, … Continue reading